Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan launches Eastern Shore billboards advertising Senate campaign

Hoping to grab the attention of Maryland beachgoers and other travelers across the Eastern Shore this summer, Larry Hogan’s campaign for U.S. Senate is putting up four billboards focusing on economic concerns.

The ads along Route 50 between Cambridge and Berlin were planned to go up Monday — starting a new phase of campaign advertising before Hogan , a Republican former governor, and Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks begin more robust advertising blitzes closer to November.

They also come about two weeks after the Maryland Democratic Party launched two digital billboards in Baltimore to highlight former President Donald Trump’s support for Hogan . The pair of Republicans have repeatedly clashed, and Hogan has said — including in a television interview Monday on Fox45 — that he thinks Trump’s backing hurts him in Maryland. The state overwhelmingly voted for Democratic President Joe Biden in 2020.

Hogan’s billboards are designed to continue a recent push on economic issues as he and other Republican candidates emphasize elevated levels of inflation in recent years.

“Crabby about high prices? Send me to DC to get crackin’,” one of the billboards reads along with a photo of Hogan and his wife, Yumi, holding up crabs.

“Even fries cost more; Had enough?” reads another, with a photo of Hogan holding a bucket of fries on the Ocean City boardwalk.

Another refers to Hogan’s move as governor to cut tolls across the state and then adds, “Let’s cut the BS in DC.”

The former two-term governor cut toll prices in 2016 and 2019, giving a break to drivers but costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars for its transportation fund. Lawmakers earlier this year considered raising tolls to help fill a now multibillion-dollar shortfall in that transportation account, which is threatening future road repair, new construction and public transit services. Instead of raising tolls this year, lawmakers opted to raise or create new vehicle-related fees like higher registration fees, a surcharge for electric vehicles and new statewide fees on Uber, Lyft and other rideshare services.

“This is the number one issue I hear about every day — Marylanders are fed up with high prices, and folks will be feeling the pain of these prices throughout the summer, whether it be driving to the Shore or just buying groceries. Now, the state is further burdening them with hundreds of new taxes and fees. It doesn’t have to be this way,” Hogan said in a statement.